For the past few years, Jennifer and Tim Hegseth of Northfield, Minnesota, wanted to correct the course of their family’s lifestyle, but they didn’t know how to change.

Jennifer, 46, is an airline pilot who is on the road three days a week. When she’s gone, her 47-year-old husband, Tim, who works full time, ferries their children, Sam, 11, and Ella, 7, to all their after-school activities including various sports.

In the past, Tim often grabbed fast-food meals or whipped up quick frozen dinners for himself and the kids. He has a sedentary(久坐的)job and rarely found time to exercise. Jennifer tried to go to the hotel gyms when she was away from home, but it wasn’t enough physical activity to keep her weight in check.

By late December, the couple felt out of shape and wanted to make some changes. “I want my family to get moving.” Jennifer said.

So the Hegseths volunteered to participate in this year’s Family Fitness Challenge. The ongoing project is being produced in partnership with USA Weekend and “The Doctors” TV show.

More than 400 families applied to take part in the challenge. Six families were chosen, and they were paired with a fitness expert from the American College of Sports Medicine and a registered dietitian from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The families have been working with their professionals since early January.

The Hegseths are now walking a couple miles at the local high school. “Sam and I go every Friday. We talk about his week at school. It’s a bonding time,” she said.

When I was a kid, my parents were busy working so they enrolled (登记) me in the Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow. Every day after school my parents would take me to Spartak and I would be there until maybe nine o'clock. All we did was play tennis, eat, do homework, have fun and hang out. It was basically my second family.

In that second family was a woman who was like a mother to me, my first coach, Larissa. I still refer to her as my second mother. She taught me everything I know about how to play tennis, but she’s also a wonderful person. She’s kind and patient, which is not what you expect from one of the top tennis coaches in Russia.

Her program when I was little was based on tricking us into doing our exercises. She would put a candy under the cones (锥形物), and we would try to hit the targets with balls, you got to have an ice cream.

Of course we worked hard and I didn’t let her down.

My second-ever tournament was the Moscow Championships, and I won. Afterwards Larissa came up to me and said, “Congratulations, Enjoy today because tomorrow it’s back to work.” She was always telling us to celebrate and have fun with any particular achievement but to always remember there is something more you can do, something more you can achieve.

Now every time I go back to Russia I go to Spartak to see Larissa. We look at all the pictures from all the birthday parties and tournament and celebrations. It is really cool to have someone like her in my life. Larissa is still coaching, but we don’t talk much about tennis any more. We just talk.

The number 261 is Kathrine’s bib (号码布) number from the 1967 Boston Marathon. She protected that bib while an angry race director attacked her in the second mile and tried to tear the numbers off her shirt. He was angry that a woman had entered his race, declaring that it was a men’s only event.

Even though she was terrified and humiliated (羞辱), Kathrine got away from the official. Thanks to help from her teammates, she went on to finish the rest of the race, and was so determined that she said she’d finish on her hands and knees if she had to. The bib number 261 stayed proudly on her front and back though the official did tear off the top right corner!

Kathrine continued her running career, completed 39 marathons and won the New York City Marathon in 1974. She ran her personal best in 1975, finishing second in Boston (2:51:37). She then put her energies into creating the Avon International Running Circuit of women’s only races in 27 countries with over a million people participating in it from 1978 to the present time. It was this series of events, which showed global participation and performances, that largely convinced the IOC (国际奥委会) to include a women’s marathon in the 1984 Olympic Games.

Women from around the world have been wearing the number 261 on their bibs because it makes them feel fearless in the face of adversity, whether it is a tough marathon, a difficult business presentation, or the hard situations of life.

As she prepared for the 50th anniversary of the famed Boston Marathon run, Kathrine through the urging of many women around the world (and again, help from her teammates) created 261 Fearless, a global network for women around the world to connect, support and inspire one another through running. As Kathrine says, “Running will wonderfully change your life. We invite you to join our fearless community!”